Page 17 of Rescued By the Dour Demon

She snorted. “You said ‘pop the hood’ with such authority. Gave me hope.” She pulled out her phone and placed a call, leaning a hip against the front bumper.

“I mean, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when your engine makes weird noises?”

With a growl of her own, she tucked her phone back in her pocket. “It’s going to take forever for Triple A to get here and, considering the time, I doubt there’s even a station open that can help us, even if we can get a tow there tonight.” She sighed. “I guess we’d better find a place to crash.”

By that point, they’d attracted the attention of nearby patrons. An older white lady with a silky green scarf artfully knotted around her neck said, “Oh, honey, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everything local’s all booked up.” At Rowan’s questioning look, she shrugged and said, “It’s the Apple Festival.”

A barrel-shaped Black man in oil-stained overalls waiting for his order nodded sagely. “Apple Festival. Been happening for, oh, nearly thirty years now. Folks come piling in from all over. Places are booked months in advance.”

She exchanged looks with Leith. “So, there’s nothing? Nothing at all?” They could make do with just one bed if they had to. Her body flushed at the thought.

Mr. Overalls tipped his chin at the lady in the green scarf. “Catherine here is head of the festival committee, so she’d know.”

By then, Catherine had her hands full with a box filled with her orders. “We keep track of that kind of stuff,” she said, bobbling the box and steadying it with a khaki-covered knee. “Especially since locals rent out rooms for some extra cash. Helps the whole town if we track what’s available.”

Leith hustled over and took the box from her. He helped her to her car, earning a smile and a pat on the cheek for his efforts before she drove off with a honk and a wave.

“Well, shoot,” Rowan said, her shoulders slumping. “I guess we can sleep in the car.” It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was doable. At least Leith would be with her. Her brain helpfully supplied a vision of them snuggling close in the back of her SUV. She clenched her thighs.

Mr. Overalls came over to peer at the engine, giving it a poke. Pulling a blue handkerchief from his back pocket, he twisted a few engine components and hummed. “Bright side, I can have one of my guys tow you over to my garage tonight so your vehicle won’t sit here, clogging up Sammy’s lot.”

Rowan brightened. “That’d be amazing. Can you get it fixed tonight?” she asked, hoping for something quick and dirty, just to get them home. She’d worry about the rest of it later.

“No can do.” He unhooked the hood and dropped it down, securing it. “Anniversary tonight. Annie would have my head.”

“We understand. It’s never a smart idea to upset your wife, especially on your anniversary. Hi. I’m Leith and this lovely lady is Rowan.” Leith held out a hand.

“Truer words,” the man said with a deep laugh that rumbled across the parking lot. “Mathan Gray.” He shook their hands. “Hey, is that a tent I see there in the back?”

Rowan nodded.

He scratched his thick beard and gave them a considering look. “It’s not much but, if you’re game, I’ve got a chunk of land behind the garage. Runs right up against the national park. There’s a great spot near the creek the grandkids love to camp at. You’re welcome to stay there, rather than trying to make do in that SUV of yours.”

14

LEITH

There was something to be said about the kindness of strangers. Not only did the bear shifter offer to come in on his day off to fix their car, he and his sweet wife pulled together a kit filled with both necessities and goodies to make their unexpected stay more comfortable.

He even supplied Leith with a change of clothing, grumbling that a man couldn’t camp in a business suit. As Mathan was a much larger man than Leith — both taller and wider, more representative of the big black bear he shifted into — he’d scrounged up a pair of his slightly smaller teenaged son’s sweats.

Leith poked at the fire, making the flames flare.

“Hey, now. Mess up my marshmallow toasting, and you’ll regret it,” Rowan said, shaking her marshmallow-topped stick at him. “I need coals, not flames, to get the perfect crust.”

“And here I thought I was your marshmallow,” he teased.

In the flickering light of the campfire, the flush on her cheeks burned bright. “You’re already crusty enough,” she said, shifting on their shared log, her leg rubbing against his. She rotated her stick, making sure the whole marshmallow turned a golden brown and didn’t burn.

He grunted, acknowledging the truth of it. “It’s beautiful here,” he said, admiring her profile. She’d changed into a pair of black leggings and an oversized hoodie, pulling her hair up into a messy bun. Several tempting tendrils escaped their bonds, framing her face and curling around her long neck. Reaching out, he ran a lock through his fingers, his knuckles grazing the soft skin along her collarbone.

She shivered and raised an eyebrow before casually reaching across his lap to grab the s’more supplies, her forearm sliding over his hard cock. He bit back a groan when she added a little more pressure on the return.

“It is beautiful here,” she said, as if she didn’t know exactly what she’d done and how hard it made him. “I love how you can see so many more stars in the sky when you’re away from the bigger cities. I might even ask Mathan if we can come back here again sometime.”

The spot the bear shifter directed them to was tucked behind a thick stand of tall trees, the oaks, pines, and scrub trees blocking them from view of both the garage near the road and the Gray’s house at the opposite edge of the property. The happy burbling of the nearby creek disguised road noise and made it feel like they were camping deep within the forest, with no one around.

Her marshmallow done, Rowan carefully assembled her s’more — graham cracker on the bottom, a chunk of chocolate, perfectly toasted marshmallow, another cracker on the top — and smooshed it together, the warmth of the toasted marshmallow melting the chocolate. Her eyes on his, she licked a drip of chocolate off the side of her hand.

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